Ok, So a week after I lowered my car, I was paying more attention to a passing woman and her herd of kids, than the curb, while pulling out of a parking spot, and I got this awesome scrape.

It's been a couple months, and I'm tired of looking at it, and finally have the cash to fix/cover it. I'm torn between having it professionally touched up and covering it up with the JDP CF Lip.


Repaint: $325-ish (to paint and blend the scrape and reclear the whole bumper)

• I love the stock look
• If I decide to sell the car in the future, it'll be easier/worth more stock.

JDP Lip: $300

• I like the more agressive look, but I don't necessarily love the way it blacks out the whole center part - reminds me of a Matrix XR.
• I get something new and an afternoon project for my money, as opposed to putting out cash to get back to where I started.
• I'll probably have to have it painted if I sell the car in the future.
• I will probably have to touch up (or ignore) the peak of the scrape, as the lip might not cover 100%, but this should only be noticeable upon close inspection.

Opinions? Which do you prefer? Below are a picture of the scrape, a picture of my car, and a picture of a fellow TW GE with the JDP Lip (BakedCookies' gorgeous Fit).

The noob badge:



Front shot, noob badge visible at the bottom of the driver's side.


And BakedCookies' TW, a little lower than mine (I think) with the JDP Lip.


I'm leaning towards the lip, as the only angle that I'm not in love with is the head on look. Anybody got one and want to weigh in?

 

i like the head on look. u trippin! lol

get the lip

 

I think you may have answered your own question. Good luck.

Dan

 

if you get the JDP lip, u will probably be scratching other parts of the bumper because its such a tight fit.

my word is get the mugen lip. It should be around 450 after shipping.

 

dude JDP is secks........mugen lip is ugly and overpriced

 

I forgot all about thr Mugen lip, but to be honest, I don't like the added bulk. Plus, I think it would look unbalanced without the full Mugen kit.

I've heard about the JDP lip scratching the paint during installation, but that'll be nothing compared to the existing damage. Still, worth noting, and thanks for reminding me of the Mugen route...I'll need to look one up in TW, just for kicks.

 

i should be posting photos of my car if the coming weekend weather is nice.

I agree, at first, i thought the mugen lip is really ugly because of the bulk, but it really grew on me and now that I have it, it looks perfect. The fitment and the quality cannot be matched to be honest.

 

I know how it goes - scraps and scratches - you use your car.

Now maybe it's how you got it [skirts] that bugs you or you really want a new lip.
If/when you sell is the time to take care of scratches.

I tend to accept the fact that it's a car and sometimes shit happens....

K_C_

 

I've been staring at it for 2 months now, and every time I see that scrape, I get sick to my stomach. To me, it's been like walking around with a big, sloppy, ketchup stain on my shirt. I'm willing to accept the normal wear and tear to some degree (as you said, shit happens), but this was my fault and should never have happened.

I can understand how that might sound ridiculous to some (my wife included, I think) but I take pride in my cars, and I'd like it to show. I guess you could say I'm embarassed about the whole thing, I just feel like the car looks like a beater, displaying that big old scrape.

 

bumper repair epoxy and black vinyl - $30

 

I know that worked for your raccoon damage, but my bumper isn't cracked or damaged, it's just missing paint. I also don't think there's any good way to cover the scrape with vinyl and have it look decent, based on where it's located.

 

not really... because he already has exterior modes that is swaying from stock already.. red H emblem and Yellow fog lights from the pics he provided.. and the possibility that he might be lowered and on rims as well...

i say your already "not" stock looking.. go ahead and get the carbon fiber lip... it looks great if your into that kind of thing.

for myself... I like stock looking cars, and if that happened to me, i would be in a huge debate as well.. because once you start that modding.. you might as well go all the way on how you want the car to look. Which for me would just be adding Rims and lowering it anyways in combo with the lip. because cars look terrible when its half assed IMO... when you have 1 you HAVE to have the other.. example would be "Rims is one half... Lowering is the second"

 

I think the red emblems/yellow fogs are more like accents, while the lip is a pretty big departure from stock. Not in a bad way though, and will likely go that route. I would also much rather be putting this money towards a set of wheels, because I am unfortunately still on stock sport rims, and will not likely be able to afford decent rims within the forseeable future. I'm considering having my stock rims powdercoated to hold me over.

I agree with your comments, and another hangup of mine regarding the lip, is that it might look a little half-assed without the CF diffuser or stock "diffuser" painted black to balance it out. Gives me something to consider for later, I guess.

 

I know where you can't better than decent wheels for next to nothing

 

I vote Lip, I meant John(I remember his name being John at least it was at least a year ago) a while back, he seemed like a true car lover, and really enjoyed his work. He made me a custom part, and its very good workmanship.

 

Touch-up paint until you sell it and repaint it or stick a couple bandaids on it.

Not really a fan of the JDP lip.

 

Nice wheels, but too rich for my blood right now. If I didn't have this scrape to deal with, then it might be a different story.

 

Do not under estimate vinyl, it's cost effective (cheap) and if done right can look very good. I have done a couple photoshops of what your car could look like with a flat/mat finish black vinyl on the effected area and a little more as well. You can see below what I came up with, as long as you prep the area installation is very simple.

Oh FYI the full side shot is NOT your fit, but it's another members I used to show a different shot of what the fix can look like.









This is a way you can actually see what it "could" look like with vinyl. I understand your want to keep it stock, however the lip and repaint are high cost compared to this and if you really want to put off repainting, then this option is a good one, when you are ready to sell the car, have it painted or simply leave it on and sell it as is.

 

Good solution - I would suggest something a bit more aggressive than plain vinyl, textured possibly. It is an area that catches a lot of debris. I would keep it just shy of the radius - if that covers the damage. EDIT: but it doesn't, man that sucks

 

Thanks for the ideas, man.